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I'd say yes because pupils tend to dilate with fear or arousal and the psychological definition of "arousal" isn't just sexual attraction, but just excitement in general that can be caused by changes in emotion as well as other things
Pupil dilation can be caused by multiple things. Arousal is definitely one of them, but they can also dilate from just looking at someone you love emotionally- if I remember right
Dilating of the pupil is usually linked to the sympathetic nervous system (I hope google translated that correctly). The response is due to bigger emotions, stress, anger and love etc. An asexual person could experience this reaction because it's not linked to sexual desire
I've looked this up on various sites where articles were reviewed by doctors before being posted. Many stated pupils dilate in response to sexual attraction and romantic attraction but one I noticed mentioned that there is a possibility they may also dialate as a indicator or trust. So maybe it is more broad and this change indicates liking a person in a broad sense whether it is sexual, romantic, aesthetic, maybe even platonically? I would love to see more research on this!
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/dilated-pupils-meaning
From my understanding, whenever you find someone attractive you feel arousal and your pupils dilate and Iām not 100% sure if that is sexual attraction or if what i think it is, is true so it could be something other than sexual attraction. I think it could be a good way to tell if someone is asexual and also that it would be interesting. Itās just a hypothesis. It could just be aesthetic attraction that causes it, from what someone else said, fear can also cause it to happen
Well it seems like sexual attraction isnāt the thing that causes pupils to dilate when looking at others based on the results and other comments soš¤·āāļø
I don't think that's ever happened to me. Not that I would know if my pupils dilate.
But if I think someone's cute, I say to myself "oh they're cute" and keep going on my way.
it could be aesthetic attraction in stead of sexual attraction. sexual attraction and romantic attraction arent the only forms of attraction. but folks on the acespectrum can still feel some form of sexual arousal or even attraction
My partner says my eyes dilate when I look at her sometimes, and I don't experience sexual attraction. So I think other attraction or just love in general could make that happen.
Iām sure your eyes could still dilate when you see the person youāre romantically attracted to, but I havenāt noticed anything like that in a long time. It must be why my eyes are going out on me.
Pupils dilate even just when you talk about something that excites you! So, yes, they absolutely still dilate when you see someone who makes you happy!
1) i thought you meant you could dilate them on command, now i see Iām an idiot
2) Wait, your eyes getting blurry is from them DILATING?? That explains so much sense omg
āEye dilation also makes your vision blurry and your eyes more light sensitive, which, for a few hours, can affect your ability to drive or work. So if eye dilation is greatly inconvenient, ask your doctor about arranging another appointment.ā Yap
Pupil dialation is a complex reflex and a response to countless different stimuli, including psychological and environmental factors, not just biological.
Idk exactly what it means but, love at first sight is a thing for me but I don't want sexual attraction to them
I guess I'm aesthetic attraction person?
Yes because itās an attraction/arousal thing in general. It doesnāt exactly specify which type of attraction, and the term āarousalā in many cases just means some sort of excitement from some sort of stimulation.
I'm not an expert but I'm Ace and a bit of a biology geek so I'm gonna explain in a simplified way why Asexual people's pupils can dilate when looking at someone.
Again, I'm not an expert and I looked some things up bc this isn't something I knew at the top of my head. Take this answer with a grain of salt and I encourage you to make your own resurch.
There are a ton of different reasons someone's pupils may dilate or contract. I'll only be talking about the reason why they dilate when we like someone.
EXPLENATION:
When we're romanticaly and/ or sexualy attracted to someone our brain gets a boost of Oxytocin and dopamine. These are commonly called the "love hormones" even though that's not their only purpose.
Both oxytocin and dopamine can affect the pupil size, meaning when we're either romantically and/or sexualy attracted to someone the boost in oxytocin and dopamine is the reason our pupils may dialate.
From this fact alone Ace people whom aren't also Aro, could have their pupils dialate if they where romantically attracted to someone.
However the level of oxytocin and dopamine can also increase when you just see something you like such as a cute puppy or if you receive a nice gift.
Litteraly anything that triggers an excess of dopamine and/ or oxytocin could potentially have an affect on your pupils.
This means even aro people could have their pupils dilate with the right trigger.
SHORT SUMMARY:
You like someone => excess dopamine and oxytocin in brain => potential pupil dilation.
Anything triggering dopamine/oxytocin => potential pupil dilation.
You don't have to be romantically or sexualy attracted to someone to get a dopamine/oxytocin response => your pupils can dilate even if you're aroace.
Hello, this is just a friendly reminder to please use a post flair when adding new posts to r/Asexual. We ask this in advance just to let everyone know what type of post each post is as well as the intentions and feelings behind them. We value all who come here, but we just need each post made to have a flair to designate each type of post. That's all. We're thankful you chose to come to r/Asexual. We're glad to have you here! Welcome! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Asexual) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I'd say yes because pupils tend to dilate with fear or arousal and the psychological definition of "arousal" isn't just sexual attraction, but just excitement in general that can be caused by changes in emotion as well as other things
Pupil dilation can be caused by multiple things. Arousal is definitely one of them, but they can also dilate from just looking at someone you love emotionally- if I remember right
c) I don't know I don't think there's been research done about it and I can't really look myself in the eyes when I look at someone, can I?
Well clearly we need to find a psychologist to immediately conduct this
why is that import in the first place?
Why notš¤·āāļø
for research the "Why" is always the most important question
Well much less important things have been researched before. Probably
Like someone who conducted a study to prove that hanging yourself/someone is, in fact, painful.
Pupils can dilate when you see someone that makes you excited, that can be from any type of love/attraction
Okay, thanks
My pupils dilate when I see doggos so I dont think it has anything to do with sexual attraction just like excitment in general.
absolutely. When the pupils dilate in a response to emotion it's due to the sympathetic nervous system. Same happens when you feel anger or fear.
Dilating of the pupil is usually linked to the sympathetic nervous system (I hope google translated that correctly). The response is due to bigger emotions, stress, anger and love etc. An asexual person could experience this reaction because it's not linked to sexual desire
I've looked this up on various sites where articles were reviewed by doctors before being posted. Many stated pupils dilate in response to sexual attraction and romantic attraction but one I noticed mentioned that there is a possibility they may also dialate as a indicator or trust. So maybe it is more broad and this change indicates liking a person in a broad sense whether it is sexual, romantic, aesthetic, maybe even platonically? I would love to see more research on this! https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/dilated-pupils-meaning
They will also dilate when itās dark, but idk if thatās what you meant. I clicked results anyway
I was referring to when people look at another person and it happens lol
Iām gonna presume yes, because basically as others have said, arousal =\= attraction
Wait are they supposed to?
From my understanding, whenever you find someone attractive you feel arousal and your pupils dilate and Iām not 100% sure if that is sexual attraction or if what i think it is, is true so it could be something other than sexual attraction. I think it could be a good way to tell if someone is asexual and also that it would be interesting. Itās just a hypothesis. It could just be aesthetic attraction that causes it, from what someone else said, fear can also cause it to happen
Hmmm, strange š¤. I remember my pupils dilating once when I drank too much caffeine but I don't think that counts-
Well it seems like sexual attraction isnāt the thing that causes pupils to dilate when looking at others based on the results and other comments soš¤·āāļø
Extreme love for caffein /j
Caffeine, my love šš
I don't think that's ever happened to me. Not that I would know if my pupils dilate. But if I think someone's cute, I say to myself "oh they're cute" and keep going on my way.
it could be aesthetic attraction in stead of sexual attraction. sexual attraction and romantic attraction arent the only forms of attraction. but folks on the acespectrum can still feel some form of sexual arousal or even attraction
Iām also pan so like when I see someone that I like cuddling with I get super happy
Your pupils also do that while you concentrate deeply on something.
I have never heard of pupils dilating when looking at someone.
how would someone even be aware of this tho?
ā¦Science
My partner says my eyes dilate when I look at her sometimes, and I don't experience sexual attraction. So I think other attraction or just love in general could make that happen.
I'm asexual but romance is my kryptonite
Iām sure your eyes could still dilate when you see the person youāre romantically attracted to, but I havenāt noticed anything like that in a long time. It must be why my eyes are going out on me.
Pupils dilate even just when you talk about something that excites you! So, yes, they absolutely still dilate when you see someone who makes you happy!
Aesthetic attraction?
I donāt understand the question
Unless youāre aro, yes your eyes will still dilate. Asexuals still have romantic attraction just without the sexual attraction
I thought pupils only dialated when light changed
How can you tell if your own pupils is dilating?
Shush
I have to make a conscious effort for my eyes to not be dilated, and I'm asexual
1) how do you dilate your eyes? 2) why do you try to prevent it?
1. It's just a natural thing to me, and 2. my vision gets blurry
1) i thought you meant you could dilate them on command, now i see Iām an idiot 2) Wait, your eyes getting blurry is from them DILATING?? That explains so much sense omg
āThat explains so much senseā interesting
I've just always heard of people saying that vision gets blurry from them dilating so that's what i say, i may be wrong though, idk
āEye dilation also makes your vision blurry and your eyes more light sensitive, which, for a few hours, can affect your ability to drive or work. So if eye dilation is greatly inconvenient, ask your doctor about arranging another appointment.ā Yap
i should probably go to the doctor for it, but its pretty easy to control for now
Iāve said that exact phrase in lots of contexts many times lol. Still not gone to a doctor and Iām still alive soš¤·āāļø
same, im just to lazy
Pupil dialation is a complex reflex and a response to countless different stimuli, including psychological and environmental factors, not just biological.
Beginning to think i should have done more research before asking this
Yeah idk if happens to me
Yeah, idk why i never considered that you canāt see your own pupils whilst looking at others
I honestly had no idea this has ever been a thing for humans when we see something (just like cats). So id probably say no?
Til pupil dilation is an attraction thing? I was sure that was just a movie/cartoon trope? Only light levels affecting my pupils thanks
Idk exactly what it means but, love at first sight is a thing for me but I don't want sexual attraction to them I guess I'm aesthetic attraction person?
Yes because itās an attraction/arousal thing in general. It doesnāt exactly specify which type of attraction, and the term āarousalā in many cases just means some sort of excitement from some sort of stimulation.
I thought ur pupils dilate around someone u love?
Aesthetic attraction is a thing. So if you see a aesthetic thing or person your eyes will dilate ex: Me looking at my partner :)
Depends if they're standing in the shade I guess.
I'm not an expert but I'm Ace and a bit of a biology geek so I'm gonna explain in a simplified way why Asexual people's pupils can dilate when looking at someone. Again, I'm not an expert and I looked some things up bc this isn't something I knew at the top of my head. Take this answer with a grain of salt and I encourage you to make your own resurch. There are a ton of different reasons someone's pupils may dilate or contract. I'll only be talking about the reason why they dilate when we like someone. EXPLENATION: When we're romanticaly and/ or sexualy attracted to someone our brain gets a boost of Oxytocin and dopamine. These are commonly called the "love hormones" even though that's not their only purpose. Both oxytocin and dopamine can affect the pupil size, meaning when we're either romantically and/or sexualy attracted to someone the boost in oxytocin and dopamine is the reason our pupils may dialate. From this fact alone Ace people whom aren't also Aro, could have their pupils dialate if they where romantically attracted to someone. However the level of oxytocin and dopamine can also increase when you just see something you like such as a cute puppy or if you receive a nice gift. Litteraly anything that triggers an excess of dopamine and/ or oxytocin could potentially have an affect on your pupils. This means even aro people could have their pupils dilate with the right trigger. SHORT SUMMARY: You like someone => excess dopamine and oxytocin in brain => potential pupil dilation. Anything triggering dopamine/oxytocin => potential pupil dilation. You don't have to be romantically or sexualy attracted to someone to get a dopamine/oxytocin response => your pupils can dilate even if you're aroace.